Hands All Over

Ch. 127 Happy

Juice sat on the edge of his bed, his heart feeling heavy as he watched Angela pack her carry on bag full of necessities. She was leaving behind her check in bag and a lot of the clothes she'd packed in it. Some of it was neatly tucked into the bureau he'd bought for them. He loved that she was leaving stuff behind since it was proof she was going to come back. Still...he didn't want her to go. Not when they'd just spent the past two weeks in complete heaven living the normal kind of family life he'd always craved. No looking over their shoulders or jumping every time a motorcycle passed by; they'd just been blissfully boring. They'd even taken to waking up early together to go for a run just the two of them. They'd run around the neighborhood a few times before he chased her into the house, up the stairs, and had his way with her on the bed. All before either of their kids woke up. He stared at her back, smirking at the dark bite mark on her shoulder, a souvenir from their run that morning. Looking at his feet, he spotted her running shoe on the ground nearby and reached out his foot, dragging it under the bed to hide it away; if she couldn't find the sneaker, she couldn't leave.

"I don't want you to leave," he admitted aloud. He knew saying it would only make it harder for her to go, but he couldn't help it. She had to know her absence was going to kill him. After having the house filled with so much noise and love, the silence their departure would leave was going to hurt like hell. "Hate being alone. 's too quiet."

She turned then, her dark eyes worried as she looked him over. "A week, Juice. That's it. One week, and we'll be back," she promised him, taking a step closer. "And you're not alone. Jo and Dino are right next door, goof. You want some noise, go over there. That place is never quiet with those two Ninja Turtles runnin' around."

" 's not the same," he replied, grabbing her hips to pull her in close. He pressed his face into her shirt, smiling when he felt her arms drape over his shoulders, her lips pressing a kiss into his hair. "Don't go."

"I can leave Evie here," she offered, her fingernails scratching gently at his scalp. "She'll keep you company."

He sighed, tempted by the offer. He'd love to have some one on one time with his daughter, but he knew it would look strange to their old friends in Charming. If she was going to pull off the charade he was still dead, she'd have to keep Evie close. No way anyone would buy her leaving her baby girl in a different state with extended family. Plus, he wanted her family to have a chance to say goodbye to her before they made their big move. "Nah," he answered, tilting his head back to meet her gaze. "She should go too. See her grandmas and uncles again 'fore you move."

She snorted, taking a step away from him again. "Think Dia and my Ma would kill me if they didn't get to see her once more," she said around a laugh as she picked up one of her running shoes off the ground and put it by her bag.

"And Hap?"

"Hap can go fuck himself," she muttered, walking around the room in search of the other shoe.

"He let me go," he reminded her.

Angela sighed, raking her hand through her hair. "He betrayed me."

"No, baby, he didn't. He saved me. He saved us," he insisted, watching her twist at her wedding ring around her finger. He noticed she was missing one of her usual rings. A tan line encircled her middle finger where the ring Happy had given her used to be. She never took that thing off. Could she really be that angry with Hap? "Would you just talk to him? For me? Please."

"We'll see," she said, dodging the question. "Have you seen my other shoe?"

Juice shook his head. He saw the subject change for the diversion it was, but let it happen anyway. He didn't want to fight with her before she left. "Nope," he lied, feigning innocence. "You look downstairs?"